Most Americans favor no insurance coverage for birth-control, support right of conscience

Columbus, Ohio, Jul 19, 2007 / 10:24 am (CNA).- A new survey conducted by Baraga Interactive has found that a large percentage of U.S. adults favor optional coverage for birth control and support pharmacists in their right to exercise their conscience when asked to fill a prescription or give counseling about drugs.

Sixty-one percent of those polled said they support no health insurance coverage for contraceptives; 65 percent of those polled support a pharmacist's right to decline to fill or counsel for prescription drugs, which may violate their religious, moral and ethical beliefs.

The survey of 1,249 adults confirmed a similar Medscape study in 2005 whereby a slightly higher percentage of US adults — 69 percent — supported a pharmacist’s right of conscience.

Currently, pharmacists of conscience practice with great difficulty in California, Illinois and Washington, which have mandatory “fill or fine” laws.

Conversely, Arkansas, Georgia, South Dakota, Mississippi and other states support a pharmacist's freedom of choice to use their properly formed conscience.

The survey was conducted by Baraga Interactive for PFLI's PharmAid Center. PharmAid Center is a support institute for pharmacists, who are being denied the right to follow their conscience by their employers.